Saturday, November 30, 2013

Man... Or Astro Man - Disintegrate



Disintegrate also appears on Man... Or Astro Man?'s full length from this year, Defcon 5..4..3..2..1, which is definitely in the running to be in my top ten. The evolution Man... Or Astro Man? have undergone since back in the day is just fantastic. The new album begins with the classic instrumental, surf rock stylings fans of the band are used to, then moves into more vocal oriented material a la 1997's 1000x E.P. Defcon... then moves back and forth with the instrumental/vocal approaches, however as you reach the end of the record I'd say some of the songs break even stronger new ground, eschewing many of the more recognizable aspects of the band's sound for some electronics and even more focus on making the vocals the forefront of the songs. Case in point: there is very little if any 'surf' to the guitar in track 9, Electric Arc and track 10, Defcon 2 is very electronic oriented, with no discernible guitar at all. Since Astro Man's reunion several years ago it seemed very much to me like these guys work regular jobs and tour during vacation time. That said, if they keep making music the way they have been I am anticipating the interesting new avenues they seem to be perpetually exploring with their sound.

T. Rex - King of the Mountain Cometh



Awesome closing track on Electric Warrior. T. Rex is one of those bands that I know very little about. Really, aside from some very basic info the main thing I know about T. Rex is that I need to know more about them, as they inspired EVERYBODY during the 70's - Bowie especially.

Revolver - Cradle Snatch



Another band I knew nothing about until my good friend Amy dropped a link on my FB page recently. Really dig this - kind of an Oasis/Kula Shaker thing going on. Kind of.

Band's website here.

Failure - Saturday Savior



I had never heard of Failure before - or more likely I did back in the day and never paid any attention. My good friend Jacob of Blue Karma just turned me on to them after hearing news of their upcoming reunion shows in LA. I dig them quite a bit, and thus far this is a stand out.

Thee Comic Column #61 - Rick Remender and the Future of the Marvel U - SPOILERS

image courtesy of http://soulkiller-rebel-rogue.blogspot.com/
I really mean it about those spoilers, as in this week's edition of Thee Comic Column (here) I candidly discuss not only the events of Uncanny Avengers #14 but what Rick Remender's run on the book thus far may mean for the Marvel Universe going forward.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Cake - Frank Sinatra



I've been listening to a lot of Cake recently. This has always been one of my favorite songs on Fashion Nugget, which is an album where every song is outstanding.

Nick Cave Record Store Day (that's today) Live Album Release

image courtesy of Spin
I'm not going to lie - there is NO WAY in hell I'm going out to pick this up today. Working a skeleton crew day at the lab and then coming home to work on my script, then later maybe watch a movie or two because I am quite behind on what people have lent me recently. However, I will be going out tomorrow to pick this up. Live Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Recorded through KCRW, best NPR station in the nation, and if giving Henry Rollins a place for his radio show and putting something like this out doesn't prove that, I don't know what will.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Rick Remender Interview and Upcoming Signing



This is an interview my friend Mike did with Rick Remender when he signed at Mike's store The Comic Bug (best comic shop in CA) back at the beginning of the year.

I've fallen so hard for Remender's writing - it reminds me a lot of how I fell for Grant Morrison circa 2000 and Chris Claremont in the 80's. Mr. Remender, along with Dean White (colorist on Remender's Black Science), Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan and Scott Koblish are all signing at the Bug again this coming Wednesday, December 4th!!! Details HERE.

Fairies Wear Boots covered by All-Star Metal Line-up



One of my favorite Black Sabbath songs. This all-star line-up consisting of Geezer Butler, Zakk Wylde, Charlie Benante and Corey Taylor was recorded at a Hartke Bass event held at LA's wonderful Henry Fonda Theatre. The event honored Geezer Butler, who is - in my opinion - one of the greatest bass players around.

Via mxdwn.

David Lynch Remixed by Bastille



Previously I have not been huge on Bastille's radio single "Pompeii", however lately it's begun to grow on me. When I saw the video for the song or hear it in any context other than on the radio certain nuances come to the forefront. It reminds me of 80's Peter Gabriel - with those early forays into world music - mixed with The Streets. And honestly, I'm an Anglophile, so lead singer Dan Smith's very, very British voice wins me over. It may also have something to do with the fact that I heard an interview with Smith a few months back where he spoke about what a huge David Lynch fan he is (and subsequently I discovered they have a song called "Laura Palmer") and that he'd had the chance to remix one of Lynch's songs.

Well done Mr. Smith.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Uncanny Avengers #14 Blew My Freakin' Mind!!!

image courtesy of comicbookmovie.com
What an AMAZING week for comics - and I didn't even get everything in my damn box at the Comic Bug! The Walking Dead #117 was fantastic, TMNT #28 wrapped up the City Fall storyline in amazing fashion and I still have Transformers Regeneration #96 and Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera and Dean White's Black Science #1 to read (and OH! have I been waiting for that!). And speaking of Mr. Remender - the best and most shocking mind-fuck of the week was the above Uncanny Avengers #14. It will definitely be the subject of this week's Comic Column on Joup, but in the meantime I'll just say... that if this book wasn't already epic on Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men proportions it is now.

Forêt's Amazing La cage video

Forêt - La cage [vidéoclip] from Simone Records on Vimeo.

Wow. Found this on Brooklyn Vegan earlier. First - there's a part of Pennsylvania where a 50 year old fire still burns under a labyrinth of mines? WHAT? Awesome! And finding out about via this great band from Montreal named Forêt who use this amazing imagery in simply stunning music video (and who sonically really itch the old school Stereolab fan scratch I've serendipitously been feeling of late - I broke out Transient Random Noise Bursts w/ Announcements for the first time in quite a while yesterday).

Read more about this on Brooklyn Vegan. And you can buy Forêt's music on their bandcamp, linked below.



Unreleased Velvet Underground track (via mxdwn)



I found this unreleased Velvet Underground track on mxdwn this morning. "I'm Not a Young Man Anymore" apparently fits the bill of unreleased track as not much does in the post napster days - according to mxdwn it's not on any live or bootlegs known to exist. It will be available on the upcoming White Light/White Heat - get this - 45th Anniversary re-issue.

45 years!!!

Go to mxdwn or consequence of sound and read more about the 3-disc special edition here or here. I owned this album briefly and it disappeared, this was back in the mid-90's, and I never replaced it. In that brief time the track "The Gift" became a somewhat ridiculous obsession of mine.

Probably about time.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Factory Floor - Turn it Up



I've flirted Factory Floor since I first heard their remix of Grinderman's "Evil" a few years ago. I dig most of what I hear them do, and they're one of the few groups that do remixes that always seem to offer something new. Well, I shouldn't say one of the few - one of the few I know of, that's better said. Anywho, I came across this new video on Brooklyn Vegan earlier and dug it - the tone and style of the visuals fits the music quite well.

Oh, and that Grinderman remix:

✝✝✝ (Crosses) - Bitches Brew



Chino from the Deftone's other, other band. I learned of this via Bloody Disgusting this morning and was faced with a conundrum when I went to repost. The video is 'Unlisted' on youtube. When this is the case as soon as you go to the embed area a nice little msg. pops up reminding you to be polite, i.e. the original poster - here the band's label Sumerian Records - may not want it reposted. However, with BD already helping circulate the video, and the my entire perceived understanding of music videos as - in this case - artistically sound mini films that essentially function as promotional material for the music, well, I can't see why the band/label wouldn't want it reposted for more people to see.

That said, great video. The record is out 2/11/14 on Sumerian (pre-order here)and if it's half as good as the previous EP it will be great.

Monday, November 25, 2013

The Henry Rollins Radio Show




Consider this a trailer. Everything about this makes me smile. You can stream these on KCRW's website here.

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - The Proposition



Since KCRW moved Henry Rollins' show to Sunday it is no longer a weekly event for me. I'm hoping I can change that soon (or they could just put him back on Saturday where he fucking belongs... just saying). I was able to listen this week and man did he blow my mind - as usual. One of the things Mr. Rollins threw down on was the Nick Cave and Warren Ellis White Lunar, which I believe is a comp of some of their film score work. GORGEOUS.

One Song #2 is Up at MilkMag.org

image courtesy of wikipedia

This time I speak about Midnight City by M83. You can read the article here, and while you're at Milk Mag might I recommend snooping around a little as there is a wealth of great reading contained therein.

Voyeur - Little Death



Wow. Kind of speechless at this. Found Voyeur via a review on mxdwn, where they referred to them as "Trance Horror Lounge".

How could I not look that up. I don't know if I exactly agree with that referral tactic, but I've only heard two tracks thus far.

UPDATE: Wow, if this is not grabbing you go right to the final song, Little Death and then work back from the beginning (I originally began this first experience with Voyeur from the middle song, String due to the curiosity for it that Alec Cole stirred up in me via his review at mxdwn. String is fantastic, but taken in the context of the entire progression I now definitely dig the Trance Horror Lounge thing.

Saturday, November 23, 2013



Good lord, see what I mean?

The synths on this song rev me up the way guitars do when used properly. So textured, and such a well thought out structure. This seems to be the MO for these guys. Reminds me a bit of sys_exe.

65DAYSOFSTATIC - Prism



From 65DAYSOFSTATIC's Wild Light. This is a recent find for me and I'm digging it. This song seems a little throwback compared to the strangeness of some of the rest of the tracks, but in the context of the whole record it makes perfect sense. This is some seriously cosmic music.

You can listen to the entire album and then buy it at their label Bird Robe Collective's bandcamp.

Author and Punisher - Women and Children

 Author and Punisher's Women and Children is soooo going to be in my top ten of the year. "Melee" just swells with menace. THIS is the definition I've always had in my head for industrial music.




Go to his bandcamp and buy!

Breaking Bad on Vinyl!!!



Over at Modern Vinyl they have a story about Breaking Bad OST vol. #1 coming to vinyl as a double picture disc on November 26th- hell, isn't that Tuesday?!? Great News!

Ready for the bad news? It's exclusively available at... hot topic.

I have to go into a hot topic. On Tuesday. This Tuesday. Wasn't ready for that. Still, it'll be worth it. I'll just have to pretend I'm Mike (Jonathan Banks) or something and that this is surveillance.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Joe Hill's Taking Us to Christmasland!!!

image courtesy of geek news empty-v
Back in the spring I reviewed Hill's newest novel NOS4A2 on Joup. Now in this week's edition of Thee Comic Column I review the first issue of the sinisterly awesome Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland - the book that will expand on the extremely expansion-worthy mythos Hill so expertly sets up in the novel.

The Smiths - The Joke Isn't Funny Anymore



The lyrics to this song scare me. The ending is the closest thing I've ever heard to an artist transcribing the underlying fear of modern humanity into a short, concise and ridiculously catchy refrain.

Chills every time I hear this.

Slayer's Hell Awaits... 8 Bit Nintendo Style!



Oh man, did Bloody Disgusting really deliver today or what. This speaks 100% for itself. (every track from Hell Awaits is up, more in BD's article here.)

Gwar - Madness at the Core of Time Official Video!!!



I'm pretty sure Gwar is the only band who has continued to play straight-up 80's thrash metal since... well, since the 80's. I saw them live once back in what I think was the late 90's at Chicago's Riviera Theatre. It was divine. Very much like what you see in the video above, but without the safe distance of a computer screen between me and the giant blood-spewing monstrosities you see above. A stroke of genius to 'preview' the madness at the core of their live show in the video.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

SAPPHIRE SLOWS Can I Get Out of This Silence (Eyedress Remix)



A couple of weeks ago Heaven is an Incubator posted the song Nature Trips by weird electro group Eyedress from the Philippines. I stumbled back across that post a little while ago and ended up looking Eyedress up on Soundcloud. This prompted a long listening session, the above of which was one of my favorite tracks out of a lot of tracks that I really, really dug. As with my previous post concerning Nicolas Jarr, the original artist here - Sapphire Slows - is completely new to me, so it looks as though I have my homework multiplying exponentially with this lackadaisical evening of reading comics and listening to new music.

Ellen Allien - Flashy Flashy (Nicolas Jaar Remix)



I love this. Settling into some chill electro is a good way to go as these nights grow longer and longer. Winter is always when I go back to this kind of thing as both the colder weather and the dark, introspective beats and tones play increasingly well with the more isolated, introspective 'dark months'. Nicolas Jarr is one half of Darkside. I know nothing about Ellen Allien, but mean to find out more after becoming so enraptured by this particular track.

Flaming Lips Cover Tame Impala's Elephant



This is awesome. Listen to those drums!!!

Man, when the Lips cover a song, they really COVER the fuck out of it. I've gotta dig around and see if I ever posted that live version of Seven Nation Army where Wayne uses the lyrics to The Butthole Surfer's Moving to Florida.

Sleep - Dopesmoker



If you dig this you NEED to own it on vinyl. The re-issue via Southern Lord (buy it here though it looks as though they are currently out of stock) stands as one of the greatest vinyl purchases I've ever made.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

sys_exe - Sundown (radio edit)



The places sys_exe's music takes me are both wonderful and strange.

Primus - Tragedy's A' Comin



Man, I really missed the freakin' boat on the videos from this album!

Ty Segall Live @ Amoeba Music 2009 (full set)



BOMB! Look what I just found on the youtubes! This would have been amazing to see in person, but it is well before I was aware of his existence. Super cool the way they shot this and the sound is fantastic!

Ghost BC Release Covers EP



Had a feeling this was coming back several months ago, then it just kinda didn't and I became distracted. So I owe special thanks to Heaven is an Incubator for posting this a little while ago. You can get it on iTunes or better yet a record store if you happen to have one of those anywhere near you. Or you can order it directly from the band here where it's pretty much dirt cheap ($12 bucks for the vinyl before shipping!!!).

Four covers (Depeche Mode, Roky Erickson, Army of Lovers and the ABBA song Marionette in case you missed the special edition of Infestissumam) rounded out with a live version of Secular Haze. Produced by Dave Grohl. And Satan.


Teasers for forthcoming new album by Liars



There are a lot of bands I follow. I mean A Lot. Few keep me guessing from record to record as much as Liars do. WIXIW was one of my favorite albums of 2012. What's more it was one of the more interesting albums I heard that year, not just because of it's sonic nature, but because of how it related to the rest of the band's ever-changing MO. I was thrilled to read about the forthcoming new record, evidently due out in March next year on Mute. Read the details here on Exclaim!



The High Confessions - Chlorine and Crystal



My favorite track on the aforementioned Turning Lead into Gold with the High Confessions record from 2010. Shades of Pornography era Cure.

Corrections House - Bullets and Graves


New Corrections House to go along with their last two videos (Hoax the System and Grin with a Purpose).

Really dig this band but if we could just have Mr. Parker use this as a launching pad to go back and record a new record with his other "super group"I'd be one happy man. Corrections House is Sandford Parker (of Minsk, Nachtmystium) along with Scott Kelly of Neurosis, Mike IX Williams of Eyehategod and Bruce Lamont of Yakuza and Bloodiest. Meanwhile  that other group is almighty High Confessions, who have thus far released one album - Turning Lead into Gold with the High Confessions and Mr. Parker is joined therein with Steve Shelley (former Sonic Youth and Disappears drummer), Jeremy Lemos of White/Light and of course, Chris Connelly of Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Chris Connelly (w/ and w/out The Bells). 

So you see why I'd like The High Confessions to produce more music...

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Les Claypool's Duo De Twang cover Primus



After finding that video for Lee Van Cleef and posting it earlier in the week it dawned on me just how long it'd been since I had a Primus jag and I immediately set about correcting that, beginning with a couple of spins of 2011's Green Naugahyde. Then yesterday, as if the Universe decided to reward me, I found that Mr. Claypool's Duo de Twang is not only releasing an album but have shared their version of Primus' Jerry Was A Race Car Driver, which they cover (along with Wynona's Big Brown Beaver, the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive and - this I can't wait to hear - Alice in Chains' Man in the Box) on their forthcoming album Four Foot Shack, out February 4th on ATO Records.

Bad ass.

I've never quite understood how ol' Les fell in with the jam thing - a scene that I have a little more tolerance and understanding for after recently reading former AV Club current The Dissolve writer Nathan Rabin's You Don't Know Me But You Don't Like Me.

A little.

I believe this jam thing began for Claypool with his Fearless Flying Frog Brigade project. I saw the Frog Brigade (who Duo de Twang also cover on the album) back in... ummm, late early 00's maybe? It was cool but they were opening for Phil Lesh at Wisconsin's Alpine Valley and that was a long way to go from Chicago for a half hour opening set (cuz we left after after the Brigade played - the smell of patchouli doesn't agree with me). Totally worth it though.

Anyway, more Les Claypool in any capacity is always a good thing in my opinion.

More info on the album on Exclaim! here.

Queens of the Stone Age - The Vampyre of Time and Memory Official Video



Well, apparently it's music video day, although this actually dropped rather quietly yesterday. ...Like Clockwork is a top contender thus far for my album of the year and this track, coming in at number three on the album, was the first one on that first listen that told me the band had really crafted a powerhouse. The video is really quite strange, but the real killer occurs if you go here: http://www.vampyreoftimeandmemory.com/  here and do the full interactive music video experience. of course leave it to Queens to do something like this. So fantastic it borders on inconceivable.

Official Video: What Goes Boom by The Pixies



The Pixies kick off their new North American tour on January 5 (more info here) but in the meantime here's the new video to What Goes Boom (my personal favorite track off the all-together Awesome EP that came out a few months ago. From the official press release for the video:

"What Goes Boom," was one of the early songs Pixies worked on before the 
band went back in the studio, following Deal's departure. "It's kind of a 
ballsy song with real balls-out playing," says Santiago. "And [it] harkens 
back to a lot of the harder-edged Pixies stuff, which is my favorite to play."
Songwriter and guitarist Black Francis further explains that "the song is 
about a girl, a girl who plays the bass guitar. It's got kind of a metal riff 
which I think that, on occasion, we all really enjoy playing, even though we're 
not a metal band. And I wouldn't be the first to write a song about some 
gal who plays bass."
The video for "What Goes Boom" was directed by Jonathan Furmanski 
and Matthew Galkin. They had some grand plans for this but in the end
 basically decided it was cheaper and best to just blow something up.
 In an email, the two directors told us that "Our original vision for the 
'What Goes Boom' video was to create an homage to a 
central, dramatic scene in Star Wars. But, after that idea proved 
a bit too costly to produce, we decided the next best thing was to blow 
up Joey Santiago in the desert – the compromises we make for our art."

Electric Youth - Innocence



Wow. Really cool - new track from the forthcoming record Today, due out on Last Gang Records in 2014 (which is right around the freakin' corner!). If you don't recognize the name of the band you might the sound - they were featured on the soundtrack to Nicolas Winding Refn's brilliant Neo- Noir Drive two years ago or so. I had forgotten about this band after falling in love with that film and the music in it, and while this has reminded me to seek them out it has also made me slightly suspicious as Innocence is A LOT like the track A Real Hero track w/ College from the Drive Soundtrack.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Reverend Horton Heat's New Video



Great song. Great video. The change at 1:46 is killer.

After spending much of my twenties with the records The Full Custom Gospel Sounds of the Reverend Horton Heat, Liquor in the Front, It's Martini Time and Space Heater the Rev.'s been hot and cold with me. Everything he does is great, but a lot of it is within the same 'box' if you will. This is no different, but when the mood strikes me I can throw on the newer stuff (Spend A Night in the Box and up) can still make me smile (and suck the beers down faster than usual). Tonight was one of those nights. Thanks to Bloody Disgusting for posting this. It's from the new record REV on Victory Records.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Walton Goggins... Jessie Custer

A casting suggestion first brought to my attention by author Jacob Q. Knight on Twitter. If a Preacher show is going to happen, then in my book this HAS to happen! I've become a massive fan of Goggins since becoming enamored with his portrayal of Boyd Crowder on Justified, then going back and realizing he'd been awesome in a bunch of other films I'd seen him in over the years (definite nominee for best death scene - Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses). Goggins is intense in all the right ways and would be perfect for this role. I'm still afraid of AMC doing Preacher - Seth Rogen's involvement an interesting but not necessarily good development - but Goggins as Custer would definitely help make me less afraid.

image courtesy of house of geekery.com

Oceansize - Saturday Morning Breakfast Show



My friend Jacob from Blue Karma gave me Effloresce by Oceansize as an introduction to the band. After picking at it off and on for a few months the full weight and majesty of this beautifully crafted record really hit home about a week or two ago. I've pretty much been listening to it everyday since. All the tracks are fantastic, but this one hit me with a double whammy when it dawned on me that at ~330 they go into part of Pearl Jam's Ocean. I found this to be a brilliant little homage - the kind of thing a lot of bands do live but that I don't remember ever seeing done on an album before. It's a nice little tip of the hat that really adds some extra emotional weight to an already outstanding track.

Soundgarden - The Girl You Want



Have had this song in my head all night. Great cover of an old Devo song, included on the looooong out-of-print version of Badmotorfinger that included SOMMS as a second disc. Oh, SOMMS is Satan Oscillate My Metallic Sonatas.

Nice.

Primus - Lee Van Cleef



Wow. I am REALLY late to the game on this video. After seeing it I stumbled around the web checking up on what Les and the boys have been up to and found this on wikipedia:

"In September 2013, Les revealed that Jay Lane has departed Primus to focus on RatDog with Bob Weir. Previous drummer Tim Alexander has rejoined the band in his place. The band plans on going into the studio in November to possibly record their eighth studio album, the name will be announced in 2014."

Oh happy day!!!

Polvo - Light, Raking



The inimitable Chester Whelks wrote a review of Polvo's newest record for Joup back a few weeks ago. Go here to read it.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Infectious Grooves - The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move



Where there is noooooo way in hell I'd ever go see Suicidal Tendencies anymore (been that way pretty much since the last time I saw them, circa 1994 or '95) news of Infectious Grooves reuniting makes me wonder... it doesn't require 'Cyco Mike' to try and pull off that Suicidal aggression that has just seemed phoned in since... again, '94 or '95. I mean, no offense to the guy, he helped make some AWESOME music in Tendencies. Everything up to The Art of Rebellion is classic, with Lights Camera Revolution being the pinnacle and where - in my opinion - they should have stopped.

I saw Infectious Grooves at Chicago's Riviera Theatre back for this first record (opening for ST) - it's been years since I've heard this as I never owned it on disc, only cassette and that disappeared some time ago. But hearing it again now, contemplating seeing them... it's just a start-to-finish great record. Live? Wait, FNM's Jim Martin added on guitar? Hmmmm...

AMC orders Preacher Pilot? (via Bloody Disgusting)

Hole. Lee. Fah. King. Shit.

image courtesy of sequart.org


First, go to Bloody Disgusting and read this.

I'm inclined to agree with Mr. Disgusting on this - I'll admit that because The Walking Dead is still the best comic I read every month (and I read a fair amount of monthly books) I do watch the AMC show but am more often disappointed with it than happy. It's a great example of a show where you consistently 'see' the writing, in the characters' motivations to do things, in the way in which events transpire and in ridiculous plot devices. But like I said, I can't stop watching the show because I love the book and that makes me want to see how the show deviates from it - which is often when it shines the brightest. AMC gearing up to take a crack at what may very well be my favorite comic series of all time makes me... nervous. HOWEVER, in their defense Breaking Bad was, to me, the greatest show of all time. HOWEVER to counter that defense they almost let it slip away after the third season (the same time they fired TWD's showrunner Frank Darabont). AMC has a spotty track record and that makes me nervous. And to change TWD is one thing - to change any single hair on Preacher's head would provoke a tactical response from A LOT of people who are fans. With TWD AMC hedged their bets that the ever-escalating popularity of the zombie was at a time ripe for penetrating to even people our parents' ages and they were right (I have several friends in their early to mid thirties whose mothers are otherwise squeamish and non-horror minded but who LOVE TWD!). I don't think blasphemy, a quest to kick God's ass and Armadillo-sodomy are things anywhere near that kind of market penetration yet - no pun intended.

I guess we'll see...

Friday, November 15, 2013

Moistboyz - Tweaker

\

How could I not?

Moistboyz - Paperboy



And while I'm on Ween I received the newest Moistboyz record - V -  from Mr. Brown (Thank You!!!) last week and have had it jammed in the old car stereo pretty much since. It's fantastic. I posted this song before, back in April when it was originally released, but it's worth posting again.

The Final Gene Ween Recordings



I wanted to post this earlier but I've been having a day where I have to again come to grips with one of my favorite bands being gone. Ween was that important to me - it's going to hit me in waves over and over again for years - until the reunion.

In the meantime you should go here and support Aaron Freeman. He's awesome no matter what form he manifests in.

RIP Nachtmystium



Blake's statement - for better or worse - here.

GUNS A' BLAZIN'!

image courtesy of easyreadernews.com

Read all about the totally independent and completely awesome indie comic GUNS A' BLAZIN'! as I interview writer Mike Wellman in this week's Thee Comic Column on Joup!!!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Download New Death Grips Record Today For Free!!!

image courtesy of potholesinmyblog.com




Government Plates is available for free download on the band's facebook and here. More info and thanks for the info on Exclaim! here.

All Robot Metal Band. Seriously.



Among the most insane things you will see today and further proof that the terminator/matrix series, or at least certain aspects of them, will come true.

Info on Brooklyn Vegan here. Maybe read it so you are prepared when "All Hail Our Robot Overlords" becomes, you know, a thing.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Teaser for Darren Aronofsky's Noah



I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm a little weird about the coming of DA's Noah. The return to big, biblical epics would be something I wouldn't necessarily care too much for and might eat up the time and resources of a lot of directors/actors/actresses/studios that I like if it catches on. Imagine another era of films like The Ten Commandments and such... not going to get me into the theatre. And I quite like going to the theatre. With Aronofsky though, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt - even if my ticket $$$ do eventually contribute to the biblical apocalypse of the theatres I prophesize (kind of) above. But how can't this be magnificent? I mean, Aronofsky's movie about Noah building the arc to survive the great flood was interrupted by... a flood! That's nuts...

David Bowie - Love is Lost



Bowie's visual output this year has been fantastic! Seriously, has he ever made this many videos in a year before? Keep it going Mr. Bowie, and be pre-pared if David Lynch asks you to reprise your role as the long-lost Philip Jefferies ("Well now, I'm not goin' to talk about Judy. In fact, we're not goin' to talk about Judy at all, we're going to keep her out of this.")

This is, of course, the remixed by James Murphy version and I think the arrival of this video answers my confusion a week to two about that other one.

I think.

Thanks to Brooklyn Vegan for this one, tho I'm sure it's everywhere by now.

Mario Bros. Indie trailer



I'm not a video game person at all, however the last video games I played were for the original nintendo. I was never a huge Mario Bros. aficionado but if your in your thirties it probably factored into your childhood at some point. But even with nostalgia I still don't care too much. This however, looks amazing.

Thanks to my good friend Anthony from Bittersweet and the B-Sides for turning me on to this.

Live Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine Live 2011



Because they played near me in Long Beach at a tiny place called Alex's again a few days ago, and once again I could not go.

the pAper chAse - Said the Spider to the Fly



And onto yet another neglected message, this one from my friend Jeffrey of Apocalypse Cow - the best freakin' recording/production studio in Illinois (well, aside from Mr. Albini's - no offense Teresa, Dan or Jeffrey) - sent me a link to this track by the pAper chAse a couple of weeks ago. Flashback about a year ago and Mr. Brown was out to stay with us for a while around xmas and one Saturday while listening to the Henry Rollins show on KCRW Henry played the pAper chAse and both Brown and I dug it. I believe I tracked the band to a website Rollins mentioned and jotted down a note to go back to them and stuck it under the 'mental pillow' (sounds like a terrifying game played at late 18th century insane asylums, eh?) where it became lost in an ever-shifting sea of puppy dogs and demonic bats. Anyway, Jeffrey facebook'd me this recently and although it doesn't sound like what I remember Rollins playing - I'll have to go back and check his show logs (yep!), which are frighteningly complete, and determine. And if that was something different and I'm just confusing the names, hey, that's two great finds Jeffrey served as catalyst for!

This song is fairly disturbing, especially the really jilted guitars that come in near the end to accentuate the discordance transpiring here.

The Besnard Lakes Cover Fleetwood Mac



laying awake in pain I find myself going through my email - a modern necessity I have come to resent and ignore as much as is possible. Anyway, in going through said mail I'm finding a bunch of cool stuff friends have sent me. This is one of those things. Mr. Brown sent me a link to this some weeks ago and I've only just now heard it. Pretty much fell in love with it the instant it began. I've always really liked Fleetwood Mac, and this song immediately presented itself as something that sounds pretty much made for them to cover. The droning lead guitar in the last minute and a half of the song, the beach boys-like harmonies and the overall tidal wash of haunt that flows over the top of this one make it beautiful, like most 'Lakes' tracks.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

David Lynch - Bad The John Boy



Weird. David Lynch's The Big Dream had fallen off my radar recently when I found it in the back of my car and stuck it in this morning while driving to work. It is, just as his 2012 record Crazy Clown Time, a fantastic album. Lynch might be a beginning musician but he's worked with musical GOD Angelo Badalamenti for what has to be approaching thirty years now, composing and structuring music for his visual project. Before this of course he worked with Alan Splet crafting the sonic nightmarescape that is the score for Eraserhead. All of this has given the man who has only recently learned to actually play guitar an insight into tone and texture that many skilled musicians take albums to develop.

Anyway, so the first thing I see when I fire up the ol' youtubes today is this track, which is on neither pre-existing Lynch record. I haven't hopped over to David Lynch.com yet to investigate but am I to believe then that there may be a third on the way sometime soon? I can only hope...

Update: Huffington post - a site I'm fairly 'meh' about - has a little about the song (Lynch's website has nothing) and it comes under a truly hysterical headline:

David Lynch's New Song 'Bad The John Boy' Is Officially Terrifying

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Miami Horror - Holidays



Dance-pop perfection that will brighten your day. And the video's pretty freakin' funny as well. Zoidberg!!!

Miami Horror's Real Slow



Miami Horror's 2010 record Illumination was one of those albums that remained glued in my stereo for most of that year and well into the next. I posted the video to Holliday back then, will re-post it just because it is so damn awesome! We're talking Fever-era Kylie Minogue crossed with... more awesomeness. Not sure exactly how to compare it because it's very much their own thing. Anyway, apparently they have recently released a new single. Hopefully this will segue into a new record SOON!!!

The Cure Performing Burn for the First Time?



Is that right? They've never played this live before? So says mxdwn, the site that directed me to Spyterus's youtube recording - done apologetically with an iPhone but seriously, thank you Spyterus! It's not the best sound but the idea that we get to see this - if it is indeed the first time they've ever played it - is grand!

Burn is of course from the soundtrack to The Crow, a movie that I absolutely HATE. I don't like to talk negative on the ol' interwebs, but I mean I HATE it, primarily because James O'Barr's comic is one of the most beautiful, devastating things I've ever read and it was done no justice by being chewed into digestible superhero tripe by the studio machine and spat out bland, predictable and just plain silly garbage.

There is apparently a rumor that the new Crow project being bandied about Hollywood is a page-by-page translation of the book, but we'll see. Not sure if the masses that would show up expecting a guitar-totin' gothsicle walloping evil doers would be able to sit through something so emotionally bleak.

image courtesy of beyondhollywood.com

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Geof Darrow's The Shaolin Cowboy

image courtesy of matrixfans.net

Wow did I dig this first issue of Dark Horse Comic's new Shaolin Cowboy mini series. Read about it in this week's Comic Column on Joup.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue Performing Classic "Where the Wild Roses Grow" Live in London!



Kudos to this fan for grabbing this distant yet still important footage. Have Cave and Minogue ever performed this live before? Apparently this will be used in the documentary Nick and the boys in the Seeds are focusing on currently, which you can read more about on mxdwn here.

And here's some floor footage I just found. Again, kudos to the person who posted this.

Secret Chiefs 3 - Personae: Halloween



So weird. My friend Mike at the best comic book shop in LA, The Comic Bug*just played me this track the other day and now here I find this video. The song is from the just-released Book of Souls: Folio A which you can order on the Web of Mimicry website here.

..............

* Interestingly enough one of my best friends in the world is also named Mike and happens to run the best comic shop in the greater Chicagoland area, Amazing Fantasy Books and Comics.

Black Lips Tour Doc



Oh! The Black Lips have a documentary about touring in the Middle East in 2012. Here's the trailer, read more about it on Brooklyn Vegan here.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Revocation - The Grip Tightens Video



I did not know about this video until just now! I found out about Revocation back in July when I saw them on the Summer Slaughter tour - I became an instant fan. If you're into metal at all go here and download their free Teratogenesis EP released via Scion AV. It is probably my most-listened to album of the year. This video made me laugh my ass off even if it does slightly obscure the really poignant topic of the song. More of Revocation's awesome music is available on their bandcamp here.

Terry Gilliam's Zero Theorem



I completely let this one slip from my radar after the initial announcement and poster release back in the spring. Terry Gilliam has made several of my all time favorite films, including Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Oh yeah, and a little film called Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Some people say his adherence to the dystopian future theme is a one-note on the piano scenario but I don't see it that way. I see it as a prophet (because Brazil is VERY prophetic from when it was released to what our world is like now) refining his vision as more and more information becomes available over time.

Can't wait for this.


The Deftones Cover Cocteau Twins' Wax and Wane



HOLY COW!!! Look what I found while perusing the youtubes for the previous post. I had no idea this existed.

Snowbird/Cocteau Twins



I didn't realize until just now that Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins was the Simon in Snowbird. Although I consider myself a huge fan of the Cocteau that I'm familiar with it is a somewhat limited vocabulary. I fell in love with Heaven or Las Vegas years ago, followed by Treasure and Victorialand. Then a year or two ago a friend burned me EVERYTHING else the band ever recorded and I've been slow to move through it because, well, I feel a skosh guilty about all that free music. My guilt has prevented me from really diving into the band's catalogue, however the one album I did que up and immediately become enamored with is Garlands. Wax and Wane is below - it's probably my favorite song off the album and a really good indication of the dark, ethereal and more than a little Cure-like tone of the record. When I eventually ante up and buy Garlands I suppose I'll move onto another one of their records. Not sure which first, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Mindful Cyborg Epsidoe 13



I've said it before and I'll say it again - if you're not reading Technoccult you are missing some of the most fascinating content on the net. I've not had the time to check out associated podcast Mindful Cyborg but that is (hopefully) going to change today.

The Neighbourhood - Afraid



Haven't turned this record in a while as I've been doing a lot of various metal to fit with the shorter days. The Neighbourhood's I Love You is still probably going to come in as my album of the year. And cool thing with this video? It's a different version of the song than is on the record!

Take that warning at the beginning of the video seriously, but it didn't seem to bother me and if you're a regular here you know about what that infamous David Lynch/NIN video did to me earlier in the year.

Woody Harrelson & Christian Bale in Out of the Furnace (via Latino Review)



Latino Review is BY FAR the best movie news site around and it is to their page I gleefully redirect you  now to learn more about this film, Out of the Furnace, which appears will be a high-level Oscar contender this year. I love a lot of different kinds of movies, but truth be told Oscar season, which we are now in the earliest weeks of, is my favorite. November and December - when a year is good and not suffering from Hollywood carrying tentpole seasons on for prolonged profit as they did in what I think was 2010 (or was it 2011? One year recently all we had was tentpoles up through years end if I remember correctly, with hardly an h'oeuvres tray worth of serious cinema) these are the months where my local cinema truly becomes a cathedral for me. Anyway, thus far we have12 Years a Slave, Captain Phillips, Gravity and All is Lost and then here comes news of this, a serious film with performances by two actors I really like but do not always appear in A level work. Just from this clip we see both Woody Harrelson and Christian Bale have a sort of gravity to their performance that registers as "this movie means business" - or at least it appears to by the clip. I'm intrigued and this may be the first film of 2013's Oscar season that I am really looking forward too.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

††† (Crosses) - bi†ches brew

CHINO I LOVE YOU

The Forest Children/Darkness Brings the Cold Bandcamp



Yep, shameless self promotion. I recently tired of paying digital distributer tunecore and took all our old stuff that was up on itunes, putting it on bandcamp. This right here - I've always been extremely proud of this. Recorded it with very limited equipment and an even more limited budget. Turned out pretty good I think (I still can't believe how I got the hi hats to sound in track 3).

Eyedress - Nature Trips



I know NOTHING about Eyedress. However, go to where I first heard this, my favorite music blog Heaven is an Incubator and you can read all about it.


Beyond the Black Rainbow


I watched this last year sometime - if you've not seen the whole thing it's worth watching at least once. However I'm fairly certain that the trailer is better than the movie and serves as an easy way to scratch the particular visual/aural itch the film will lay eggs for in the back of your mind.

Can't wait to see what the director does next.

Ty Segall - The Man Man



The. Fucking. Bomb.

Banjo & Sullivan - I'm at Home Getting Hammered While She's Out Getting Nailed



Re-watched Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects last Saturday night. I've always really liked the film, but this time it really stuck with me. I'm pretty much not a fan of any of his other films besides this one and House of a Thousand Corpses, although I think he is an incredible filmmaker. I know that sounds contrarian, suffice it to say the man has a great eye and a wandering muse...

Most of the music in the film is pretty great. The final sequence even qualifies as the only instance where I've ever been completely blown away by Free Bird. By all rights setting any scene to the entirety of that gratuitous ode to being a womanizing jerk should be awful, but RZ killed it.

The actors all put in fantastic performances, especially Bill Moseley, who if I remember reading correctly was absolutely sickened by the scene where he introduces the handgun to Priscilla Barnes' panties. The entire Banjo and Sullivan cast was fantastic and it was very cool that the soundtrack fleshed out their stories with this clippin' little ditty that, listening to now, I wish I could have heard Ween cover live back in the day.

Louvin Brothers - Satan is REAL!!!



How do I not follow up that last post with this down home classic? Mr. Brown sent me the Light in the Attic re-issue of this last year and it is phenomenal!!!

Banned Exorcist Trailer from 1973 (via Bloody Disgusting)



Major props to the always awesome Bloody Disgusting for posting this. To me Friedkin's The Exorcist is still the scariest movie ever made. Interestingly enough though last year I purchased the "Version you've never seen before" DVD and it seemed like the editing was waaaaay different, to the point that the same palpable menace did not settle over the room as I watched it. Now, this could have been because I had several friends over for the viewing, although the viewing previous to that one saw myself and at least three friends sit in the dark and watch the film. That particular viewing I remember being too scared to even get up and answer the call of nature, for a time. I'll have to A and B the versions at some point.